At 60 and feeling aware of the need to balance staying fit and healthy and one of his favourite pastimes—drinking beer—master brewer Chuck Hahn has launched Hahn Super Dry, a beer promising great flavour but with 30% less carbohydrates.
At Sydney’s Bondi Icebergs yesterday, Hahn said the beer had been developed using an enhanced brewing process that breaks down the natural sugars to create a beer that’s full strength but leaves you feeling less full than others of its kind.
Hahn, who still tries to taste every batch, said he brewed this beer for two reasons.
“I learnt my brewing at the Coors Brewery back in the seventies and we were brewing an American style light beer then. What we’ve done is taken that same process and extended it further. I always knew that eventually Australia would be ready for something for this,” he said.
“The key challenge when you are making a beer like this is to keep that flavour in. My marketing philosophy is that I only brew the beers that I like to drink myself and whatever is left over I try to sell, but the fact is that I love beer and particularly beers with flavour. But sometimes you want to have a beer that just has that flavour but doesn’t fill you up, it just refreshes you.”
Hahn, who came to Australia in 1991, is confident the range will appeal equally to health conscious men and women.
“So many women think beer is fattening, with Hahn Super Dry there’s the added bonus of the nice delicate flavour,” he said.
It is the first major launch since Hahn Premium Light was released in 1998 and will be backed by a major advertising push created by Clemenger BBDO Sydney and consisting of TV, print, POS and PR.
Hahn said the advertising campaign would be very important to spread the message of what the beer is about and to drive trials. Much of Hahn’s success has traditionally been driven by word of mouth with tastings an important part of the marketing campaign.
Low-carb beers may be a big hit in the US where three of the four top selling beers are low carb products, but here many have been lukewarm towards the concept. Other Australian launches include CUB Diamond Draft, Carlton LJ, Tooheys Maxim and CUB’s Pure Blonde.
“I think Australians are ready for a low carb beer. There have been lots of attempts… this one is coming under the Hahn label which represents quality and flavour but with the extra benefit of low carbs,” Hahn said. 100,000 cartoons have been produced.
